Megayachts

World’s 100 Largest Yachts 2006 #3: Octopus

#3: OCTOPUS—414’0”

Even though she’s not the largest private yacht in the world, she’s arguably the most popular, at least judging by the number of pages and page views devoted to her on our Megayachts forum—41 and more than 300,000, respectively, at presstime and going up as you read this. What warrants such attention? For one thing, Octopus is spotted all over the world, from Jamaica, Barbados, and Florida in the winter to Tahiti in the spring—and that’s just the first few months of this year. For another, she’s entertained some pretty high-profile people, including the members of the rock band U2, Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, clothing designer Diane von Furstenberg, and all sorts of titans of industry. Then there are the much-lauded, high-tech features such as the floodable integral “marina dock” for the custom main tender (all 59 feet of her) and the mini-sub (yellow, of course).

One of our favorites: The beach-like relaxation and play area created when a gigantic hatch just above the waterline is folded down; the crew can trot out a dining table and chairs for alfresco eating, while a bar and hot tub are permanently in place just a few steps away inside the yacht. All this and more is enjoyed by Paul Allen, who’s arguably the coolest computer geek in the world, having co-founded Microsoft and gone on to found and fund many, many other projects, both for-profit and charitable.